Always There
by TheNightFury
Summary: When Ezra is taken by the Empire, Pypey will stop at nothing to get his Master back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

 **Hey guys it's me again with more Padawan Pypey feels! This time I'm here with a multi chapter fic of doom! Once again please thank/blame Literally-the-president on tumblr for this!**

* * *

"We won't have a lot of time to get everyone off the ship before the Empire arrives so you all have to move quickly," Hera informed them.

"We know Hera," Zeb grumbled.

"You also have to be thorough though," Hera added. "We don't want to leave anyone behind."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Ezra assured.

"Don't get too cocky," Kanan warned. "That's how mistakes get made."

"Master Bridger doesn't make mistakes!" Pypey declared.

"I wouldn't say that Pipes," Ezra mumbled, running the back of his neck with his hand.

"Yea, he's made a _lot_ of mistakes," Sabine agreed, giggling.

"Enough to write a book," Zeb added.

"Or two," Sabine corrected.

"That's enough guys," Ezra hissed, his face turning bright red.

"Master are you alright?" Pypey asked.

"Fine," Ezra mumbled, ducking his head away.

"But you're turning very red. Are you sick?" Pypey innocently asked.

"No!" Ezra exclaimed as Sabine and Zeb burst out laughing.

"He's embarrassed," Sabine explained. Before Ezra could defend himself, Hera exclaimed.

"We're exiting Hyperspace." The mood in the ship instantly sobered as the ship that sent out the distress signal came into view. The ship was badly damaged, Ezra was amazed it got out here.

"What happened?" Ezra asked.

"The ship was badly damaged while fleeing from the Empire," Hera said. "They managed to get some distance but the Empire is not far behind."

"So let's get going," Kanan declared.

"I'm docking now," Hera said. Once the _Ghost_ docked Kanan said,

"We can search faster if we split up. Ezra and Pypey you go to the bridge, Zeb and Sabine you search the docking stations and I'll do a sweep of the rest of the ship. Keep your comm links on, the Empire could arrive any minute!" With that everyone entered the ship and went off in separate directions to try and find as many crew members as possible.

The ship was eerily deserted as they made their way to the bridge, Pypey knew their wouldn't be as many people wandering the halls as in a normal ship, but he didn't think the ship would be so deserted.

"I hope the crew is okay," Pypey whispered as they approached the bridge.

"I'm sure they're just hiding because they're worried we're the Empire," Ezra assured as he opened the door to the bridge and stepped inside. The sight before Pypey made him feel sick; surrounding him was the crew who had all been brutally slaughtered and their bodies left to rot on the ship.

"How did this happen?" Ezra breathed, sounding horrified. As Pypey took in the grim sight, a horrible realization hit him.

"If the entire crew was killed, who sent out the distress signal?" Pypey asked.

"I'm so glad you could finally join us," Seventh Sister said, stepping into the bridge with a sickening smirk on her face.

"No…" Ezra breathed.

"Oh yes," Seventh Sister laughed. "So predictable, all we had to do was send out a distress signal begging for help from the Jedi and you came running to the rescue like the fools you are right to us."

"Kanan it's a trap!" Ezra shouted into his comm link, but static met both of their ears. "They're jamming our signal!"

"You and your crew are trapped." Seventh sister taunted.

"I don't think so," Ezra snapped using the force to throw Seventh Sister away from him. Fifth brother suddenly landed in front of him and Ezra quickly switched to blaster mode and shot at him. Fifth brother easily deflected the shot so Ezra continued to fire at him as they backed out of the bridge. Once they were safely passed the doors Ezra shut them and stuck his lightsaber into the door sealing it shut.

"Come on we have to move!" Ezra exclaimed, grabbing Pypeys arm and dragging him away as a red lightsaber was thrust through the door from the other side.

"Should we look for Sabine and Zeb?" Pypey asked as they ran.

"They might not know it's a trap!" Ezra shouted. A blaster bolt flew inches past Pypeys face so he chanced a glance behind him and saw to his horror the Stormtroopers rapidly gaining on them, led by the Inquisitors.

More blaster bolts flew past them as they raced through the hall forcing them to ignite their lightsabers to try and deflect them as they ran. Ezra was able to hit some of the Stormtroopers as they ran, but Pypey could only deflect the incoming bolts away from them. A low flying bolt flew towards Ezra who couldn't deflect the bolt before it hit one of his legs. Ezra let out a shout of pain and collapsed to the ground, Pypey turned and raced back to Ezra to try and help him but Ezra shook his head saying,

"Run!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Pypey declared.

"I'm sorry Pipes," Ezra said, "But yes, you are," Without warning he threw Pypey using the force past the blast doors with enough force that when he collided with the wall his head spun. Before Pypey could react Ezra switched his lightsaber back to blaster mode and fired at the control panel causing it to shut as the Inquisitors closed in on him.

"Master no!" Pypey gasped, stumbling to his feet. The room dangerously spun as he stumbled over to the blast doors but he could care less about his own health. Pypey desperately started pounding on the blast door, willing it to open. Pypey shut his eyes and tried to use the force to open the door, but his head was pounding making it impossible to focus so he whipped out his lightsaber and started to cut through the door. He would not leave his Master behind!

"Pypey what are you doing? We have to move!" Zeb shouted, grabbing Pypey and yanking him away from the door.

"Where's Ezra?" Sabine asked.

"On the other side of the blast doors facing two Inquisitors alone!" Pypey shouted. "We have to help him!"

"He's right, we can't leave anyone behind!" Zeb exclaimed.

"If we stay we all get caught!" Sabine exclaimed.

"I don't care!" Pypey snapped, sticking his lightsaber into the door once again to start the slow process of cutting through the door. He knew the Inquisitors where most likely waiting for him but he didn't care. His Master was on the other side of the blast doors and he would do anything to get him back.

"This is suicide!" Sabine said, grabbing his arm, to keep him from cutting.

"He'd do the same for any of us!" Pypey snapped, "Why won't you do the same for him?"

"He would never forgive us if anything happened to you," Sabine pleaded.

"I will never forgive myself if something happens to him!" Pypey countered. For a moment, Sabine stared at him unable to decide before reluctantly letting go of his arm so he could continue cutting.

The minutes ticked by agonizingly slowly as Pypey cut through the door. Every second it took to get to his Master made it more and more likely they wouldn't get to him in time. Once he cut a circle into the door he used to force to push it out and jumped through the hole. Pypey had expected to find the Inquisitors and a slew of Stormtroopers, but instead he found a painfully empty hallway.

"W-w-where are they?" Sabine asked.

"They can't have gotten far!" Pypey shouted, before stumbling down the hallway. Though his head hadn't completely cleared he knew he couldn't wait for the room to stop spinning. He had to find Ezra before they got off the ship.

"Pypey wait!" Sabine exclaimed, grabbing his arm before he could get far. "This could be a trap!"

"I will not abandon my Master!" Pypey shouted.

"I can't let you walk into a trap!" Sabine snapped.

"This is Specter two can anyone read me?" Hera's voice called through the comm.

"We read you Hera," Zeb said into his comm link. "A ship just came out of the ship you're on and went into hyperspace, what happened?" Pypeys heart froze in his chest at her words. _No….he couldn't be gone…._ Desperate, Pypey reached out with the force to find his Master. Almost instantly he found Kanan who was not far from them, but Ezra's force signature was nowhere to be found. Ezra was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

 **Hey guys sorry it took so long to update, things got pretty crazy for me but I finally had some time to sit down and type this out. Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

 _Ezra was so close, yet so painfully far away. Pypey once again stood in the disgusting cell that imprisoned his Master, but he was painfully helpless to do anything but watch as Seventh sister sauntered towards him, a twisted smirk on his face as she reached down to almost lovingly caress Ezra's cheek._

 _"_ _I hate to do any more damage to such a pretty face…" She whispered in Ezra's ear. Pypey wished he could move so he could cut her in half for even thinking about hurting his Master, but his limbs stubbornly remained frozen as the scene in front of him unfolded._

 _"_ _You love causing pain," Ezra growled, his voice coming out as a weak gasp. How much pain was he in? How much more could he take?_

 _"_ _It could all end if you joined me," she whispered, slowly training her hand down Ezra's face._

 _"_ _Never," Ezra snapped with as much strength as he head left. Seventh Sister tauntingly raised Ezra's own lightsaber and asked,_

 _"_ _Should I give you new scars to match your old one's?"_

 _"_ _You don't scare me," Ezra tiredly declared._

 _"_ _I sense your fear," Seventh Sister taunted, thankfully lowering the saber. "Don't worry, you won't hold out forever…" With that electricity shot out of the probes hitting his Master causing him to scream in agony. Pypey desperately wanted to help, or at least reach out through the force to try and comfort him but he felt himself being dragged further and further away from him._

* * *

With a gasp Pypey sat up in his bed on the _Ghost_ , heard hammering in his chest. For the past two weeks, he'd had similar nightmares about Ezra almost every night. He wasn't sure if they were simply bad dreams or visions of what was really happening and he didn't think he wanted to know the answer. All he knew for sure was that his Master was suffering; he could feel his pain in waves through the force.

Though it was still very early, Pypey realized he would not be able to get any sleep so he quietly stood and slipped out his room and down the hallway so he wouldn't disturb anyone. As he passed by Ezra's room, he could have sworn he heard his voice inside. Pypey froze infront of the door uncertainly, had he imagined hearing Ezra's voice or was this whole nightmare he'd been living in the fast few weeks all been just a dream.

Pypey could hardly breathe as he opened the door to Ezra's room, half expecting to see his Master patiently waiting to start Jedi training with him. He felt his heart plummet when he saw it was only Chopper playing a recording of Ezra. Pypey was about to pull out his lightsaber and cut the droid to pieces for playing such a cruel prank when he heard Chopper sadly beep out Ezra's name. He then realized Chopper hadn't even turned to face Pypey, most likely the droid hadn't even noticed Pypey had come in. Unable to take listening to the recording anymore, Pypey turned and shut the door behind him, Chopper still intensely focused on the recording.

It almost felt like everyone but Pypey had given up on trying to find Ezra, like they had all decided he was dead and where not mourning his passing. Pypey knew he was alive, he could feel it every time Ezra accidently let his pain slip through the force.

"Pypey," Kanan said, startling Pypey out of his thoughts. He hadn't realized Kanan's door was open.

"Master Jarrus, I'm sorry I didn't know you where awake."

"Couldn't sleep," Kanan admitted, "Why are you awake?"

"I keep having visions of my Master," Pypey mumbled.

"I do too," Kanan agreed his exhaustion slipping through his voice. It was then that Pypey finally saw the heavy bags under his eyes and how he slumped over now in his chair. A wave of guilt washed over Pypey at the sight, as worried as he had been for his Master, he'd completely forgotten that his Master was also someone's Padawan who probably had just as strong, if not stronger, connection to Ezra as he did and most likely felt Ezra's suffering just as intensely as he did.

"I'm sorry…" Pypey mumbled, sitting down across from Kanan.

"For what?"

"It's my fault he got caught…" Pypey mumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Kanan asked.

"I should have tried harder!" Pypey snapped, slumping over in defeat. "I should have done…something…."

"Theirs's nothing you could have done," Kanan gently assured. "Wasting time asking about all the 'what if's' will not get you anywhere."

"We're not getting anywhere now though," Pypey sighed, defeated.

"I know," Kanan agreed, completely broken. "I know."

* * *

"I have some news you might want to hear," Ashoka declared. Pypey only half paid attention, unless it was about his Master he couldn't bring himself to care. Though they tirelessly searched for any leads, everything they found led to another dead end. After having spent so long imprisoned, Pypey wondered if they even did find him would there be anything left to save?

"…I believe Ezra may be on Mustafar."

"What?" Pypey asked, snapping out of his dark thoughts.

"I have reason to believe Ezra was taken to Mustafar," Ashoka repeated, defeated. Why was she upset though? They knew where Ezra was and they could save him!

"What are we waiting for?" Pypey demanded, "Let's go!"

"Go?" Ashoka asked.

"Yes, we have to save Ezra!" Pypey exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Why didn't she understand?

"We can't just go to Mustafar," Ashoka argued. "There are too many Imperial ships."

"We have to find a way in!" Pypey snapped. "No matter what it takes!"

"Ezra is family," Hera agreed. "We have to try and do _something_."

"He didn't hesitate to come for me," Kanan added.

"I can't stop you," Ashoka informed them. "So be careful."

"Let's go get our friend back," Sabine declared.

"And make 'em pay for taking him," Zeb added, a twisted smirk on his face. _Just hold on a little longer_ Pypey desperately thought. _We're coming for you._

* * *

Pain was the only thing Ezra was aware of as he lay strapped down on the table, every breath sent a wave of agony through his body and once again he found himself wishing the next time the Inquisitors came they would just kill him and finally let him rest in peace. _I'm sorry Pypey_ Ezra tiredly thought _I just can't take it anymore…_ as the door slid open, Ezra reached out with the force to say goodbye to Pypey, momentarily surprised by how quickly he found his Padawan.

"Master!" Pypey shouted.

"P-P-Pypey?" Ezra weakly gasped, shocked to see his Padawan instead of the Inquisitors. How did he get here? _Why_ did he come here? "G-g-get o-out of h-here…" If they found him, they would kill him and Ezra would never forgive himself if that happened.

"Not without you Master," Pypey stubbornly said, unlocking the restraints. Ezra stumbled to his feet and almost immediately collapsed onto the ground.

"I-I-I c-can't…." Ezra gasped. Everything hurt too much; he could barely breathe without passing out from pain. How was he supposed to get out if he couldn't walk? "P-p-please j-"

"I'm not leaving you," Pypey said, scooping Ezra up into his arms. Under normal circumstances, Ezra would have been horrified at the thought of being picked up and carried by his Padawan, but he was in too much pain to care.

"I've got him!" Pypey said to Zeb who apparently had been standing guard in case Stormtroopers came. Did Pypey bring the entire Ghost crew?

"Don't worry kid, we'll get you out of here," Zeb assured. Ezra wanted to say something, thank him for caring so much, scold him for being so stupid and going on a suicide mission for him, but it took all of his remaining energy just to stay conscious.

"Where are the other's?" Pypey asked as they raced through the halls. Ezra weakly lifted his head enough the see the bodies of dozens of Stormtroopers littering the ground.

"Heading back to the Ghost," Zeb said.

"T-t-the I-In-" Ezra gasped, trying to get the words out before it was too late. The Inquisitors would know they had come for him and be after them soon!

"Save your energy," Pypey gently said.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Seventh Sister tauntingly asked, stepping into their path.

"As far away from here as possible!" Pypey growled, holding Ezra protectively in his arms.

"The Padawan to the rescue," Seventh Sister laughed. "Some Master you are."

"My Master is the greatest Master their ever is!" Pypey declared.

"We'll see about that," Seventh Sister taunted, igniting her lightsaber. Glaring at Seventh sister, Pypey passed Ezra off to Zeb as if he were a child and ignited his lightsaber much to Ezra's horror. He was helpless to do anything but watch as his Padawan charged at the Inquisitor as she activated both ends of his own lightsaber and swung at him.

Pypey managed to block the blow, but she quickly pulled back and swung at Pypey again who blocked the blow and started to push back against her. Ezra then noticed that Seventh Sister had his lightsaber attached to her belt. Pypey seemed to notice this as well and raised his hand, summoning the blade to him and started firing at her with the blaster forcing Seventh Sister to leap away so she could dodge the bolts. Before either one of them could do anything else, Seventh Sister was thrown against the wall and held their by Kanan,

"Come on let's get out of here!" Zeb who was still carrying Ezra and Pypey raced pasted Seventh Sister and once they were safely past her Kanan let her drop to the ground and shut the blast doors saying, "That won't hold her for long, we need to get out of here!"

"Spector one this is Spector two, do you have Spector six?"

"Spector two this is Spector one and we have him, get ready to take off!" Kanan called into his comm link. Darkness danced at the edge of Ezra's vision as the Ghost came into view. _I'm free…._ Ezra thought as darkness consumed him.

* * *

 **End Notes**

 **The final chapter should be out a lot sooner then this one I promise. Hope you enjoyed it :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

 **Wow I'm soo sorry this took longer then expected. I started school several weeks ago and things where pretty crazy around here. I hope you guys enjoy it though!**

* * *

It had been two days since they rescued Ezra from Mustafar, and Pypey had flat out refused to leave his masters side since. Everyone kept trying to assure Pypey that Ezra was tough, that he would be just fine. But Ezra had been imprisoned with the inquisitors for two weeks and his fragile body was covered in cuts and bruises, how could Pypey _not_ worry? His Master had been so small and fragile before, but while being held prisoner he'd lost most of weight making him seem even more breakable to Pypey.

Most nights he was plagued with nightmares of his Ezra being dragged away by the Inquisitors, only to be killed before Pypey could save him. The only thing that could calm him after such a dream was seeing his Master was safe and sound. So despite the Ghost crews' pleas, Pypey stubbornly stayed by his Masters side most nights.

Ezra's physical injuries quickly healed, but his mental health was another thing entirely. Late one night, Pypey was startled awake when he felt his Master frantically reach out to him through the force. Sure his Master was being taken, Pypey jumped out of his bed and raced to the medical bay, determined to rescue his Master. When he arrived however he found Kanan was already there with Ezra who was pale and trembling, but unharmed.

"Master? Are you alright?" Pypey tentatively asked.

"Yea Pipes," Ezra assured, baring his teeth with a pained smile. "J-just a bad dream. Sorry for waking you."

"It's okay," Pypey assured.

"Go back to sleep, I got this," Kanan assured. Pypey wanted to argue with Kanan, Ezra was _his_ Master! He should be the one to comfort him! But Kanan had an arm protectively around Ezra's shoulder and looked at him with such concern that once again reminded Pypey that Ezra was Kanan's Padawan still and that he hadn't gotten much time alone with him since being rescued.

"All right," Pypey reluctantly agreed. As much as he wanted to protect his Master, it was only fair to give Kanan some alone time with Ezra. That's what he told himself as he drifted off into a restless sleep.

* * *

Several days later, for reasons Pypey couldn't fathom, his master was insisting on starting Jedi training again. How could his Master even _think_ about starting up training when he was still so weak? Pypey had already been afraid of accidentally hurting his Master during training, but now he was injured and weak, he could get hurt so much more easily now…..

Despite Pypeys fears however, training resumed as soon as medical released him which was far too soon for Pypeys liking. Ezra however was not even remotely worried and insisted on combat training immediately, with their lightsabers.

"Ready?" Ezra playfully asked, raising his saber.

"As I'll ever be…" Pypey admitted, raising his own. Ezra smirked and charged at Pypey who blocked the blow and jumped back, tauntingly waving his saber. Ezra charged again and once again Pypey blocked the blow. Again and again his Master attacked him, but Pypey never swung back, focusing on simply blocking his Master's blows. If all he did was block, there was no way he could hurt his tiny, fragile Master right?

As the fight continued, his Master's face turned into a scowl and he started attacking Pypey more viciously. Pypey knew what his Master was trying to do, but he refused to do anything but block the onslaught of blows. His Master suddenly kicked Pypey's feet, knocking him to the ground. Before he could do anything, Ezra kicked his lightsaber away and pointed his own at Pypey. He held his blade there for a few seconds, looking disappointed before shutting off his saber.

"Pypey why are you holding back?" Ezra demanded, standing over Pypey with a scowl on his face.

"I'm not Master," Pypey lied as he scrambled to his feet. "I'm just a little off today." Pypey knew Ezra didn't believe him, but how could he tell his Master the truth.

"Pypey, the truth. Now." Ezra said, glaring at Pypey who cringed and looked anywhere but Ezra.

"I'm sorry Master I-I…I don't want to hurt you…" Pypey softly admitted.

"What?" Ezra asked, confused. "Why would you suddenly worry about hurting me?"

"You're hurt," Pypey sheepishly admitted. "I didn't want to hurt you more…"

"Pipes," Ezra sighed. "I'm okay, I promise."

Pypey frantically shook his head, "No, they took you and…and hurt you."

"Yes, they did," Ezra agreed. "And yea I'm not completely better but I'm strong enough to train you."

"How can you be strong enough to train if you're not completely better?" Pypey demanded.

"I've been hurt before," Ezra said. "I know what I can and cannot handle-"

"You couldn't handle the Inquisitors but you took them on!" Pypey interrupted.

"I didn't think I could handle them," Ezra said. "I knew I couldn't even. I knew _we_ couldn't handle them so I did what I had to, to ensure you got away safely."

"But you could have been killed! O-or worse!" Pypey exclaimed.

"Even if I hadn't, I could have been killed or worse," Ezra reasoned. "You just would have been in the same situation and as your Master I couldn't let that happen."

"You shouldn't have to put yourself in danger for me!" Pypey argued.

"Yes I do, you're my Padawan it's my job to not only teach you, but protect you," Ezra said, planning a hand on Pypey's shoulder. "It's what Master's do." His Master bared his teeth in what Pypey knew was a smile. Pypey didn't understand how his tiny Master would protect him from danger. He was so much bigger and stronger than his tiny Master who insisted on throwing himself in danger for Pypey's sake. For as long as Pypey could remember Ezra needlessly put himself in danger in order to protect Pypey, even when Pypey was just a baby and Ezra hardly knew him, he faced off two Inquisitors for him.

"You just do so much for me and…I hate seeing you in danger Master," Pypey admitted.

"I don't like being in danger, but I prefer that I be the one in danger over you," Ezra said. Pypey didn't think he would ever understand why, but he couldn't deny the warmth it brought knowing his Master thought he was worth it. Pypey happily squinted his eyes at Ezra who beamed at Pypey, squeezing his shoulder one last time before asking, "Now can we please get to some _real_ training?"

"Yes Master!"


End file.
